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[tatespa]

Good morning all! I to have a wood burning furnace inside my home, its a TARM boiler and I have been very pleased with it!! I have had it for almost 20 years now, and, its getting to be a pain in the a$$ to schlep the wood in the house all winter, so I am looking into the outdoor boilers/furnaces. Herein lies my dilemma, I am reading all sorts of stuff all over the net to see what brand I should buy. It seems like everyone is good and all the others stink... That really doesn't help. I need a consensus out here, who LOVES their outdoor furnace? And, which one gives you the best bang for the buck? This is something I am planning, but it doesn't have to happen NOW, so I am gathering all the info I can! Stainless steel? Mild Steel? Boiler plate? Anyone? Maybe a dealer/installer that has experience with multiple brands??   Thanks!!! Paul

[Ridgekid]

Your reasoning of buying a OWB is the same reason I bought mine. We are empty nesters now and no kids to haul in the wood. Keeping it outside will keep the wife in shape (OOOPPS- did I say that out loud?) Actually I'll end up keeping the fire going.....

When you start looking your first choice will depend on state regulations. Pa (and some other states) require the EPA Phase II models. That should narrow the field down pretty good.

Wish you the best of luck and welcome!

[jackel440]

Well,you know what they say "opinions are like ash*87es,everyone has one" LOL!
I think you will find that there is issues with S.S. wood furnaces.Seems to be poor manufacturing process and the use of correct filler materials.Then if you do have an issue at 10pm on a saturday you need a mobile welder who has ss filler rod on his truck.
I work with steel every day and made my own unit from mild steel.Easily repaired if need be.
I would only look into an gasification unit.Burn cleaner and use less wood.
Plus the Like Ridgekid stated many states are requiring you to buy one of them anyways.I know they have came along ways in the last few years ,and they keep getting better and better.Many good manufacturers out there and they all have good design points.
If I was buying it would be Portage&Main unit or a Natures Comfort.I haven't checked out the competition much lately so I am sure there is even newr models worth investigating.

[rosewood]

I also agree to some point about stainless,Some mfg use 409 stainless for furnaces ok for water tank but not a very durable firebox,do to it's expansion and contraction rate. Here in th north east central boilers are very popular .gassifiers are also getting to be all that u can get around here to.have ever seen or heard of a garn wood furnace? They are the  cadillac of wood furnaces, price and burn procedures don't appeal to some.I would check the posts here for weeding out the not so good .i have a homemade and not bias to any brand.don't be fooled by the tin siding and gadgets,I know it's not like you can go and see the mfg process of these things and there are a lot to chose from.

[dirtryder]

I had a Wood Doctor HE5000 gasser and it was a great stove that I felt was built very well. It was boiler plate. I changed that out to a CB 6048 "only" because I increased my heating load past what the HE5000 could keep up with.

Gasser worked great, smoked only during start up or initial "cycle" and then burned very clean.
Down side was, spitting wood to size for stove, and making sure only the driest wood was put in for best burns.
I liked the WD alot, and would have recomended it, but recently I have read about some issues with the company, so who knows......

CB 6048......works great, smokes no more than my neighbors chimney but I really have no worries about smoke due to my location. It will burn any "size" wood I can lift into it as long as it fits through the door. MAJOR PLUS!
Pros: less splitting/prep of wood. Yes it will burn "not so seasoned" wood if need be. Wood can be  48" long or so.
I LOVE the CB for my wood prep alone and is the main reason I went with this as my larger replacement.....and there are 2 in the family and 2 neighbors with the same units and no one has anything bad to say about them.
Downside......I hear that you may only be able to get the classic gassers in a lot of places due to the EPA regs. I have never seen nor know anyone that has a CB gasser, but from reading, it seems like they have worked out most of the "bugs" in them.
I "was" considering a Portage and Main gasser ....and if I had stayed Gasser, I would probably own one.

Oh, also BTW, from my research, I decided to stay FAR away from any stainless boiler.

[tatespa]

Ridgekid, hit it right on the head, though, I NEVER got any help! Its my own back and basement that will thank me!!! I haven't seen any regs here in CT about outdoor furnaces, but I personally want one that will burn efficient and clean! (the basement will thank me...) Jackel440, rosewood and dirtryder, thanks for the info. I will ALWAYS trust personal experiences rather than some reviews I read on the company's web site. That way I get real opinions and nothing is filtered out. My TARM was or is great! Like I said, its been great for me for about 20 years now and I have only replaced grates in it. I just want to be sure I don't put a problem child in the backyard that I'll have to worry about. Is it safe to say "you get what you pay for"?? I have a dealer close that I think has Central Boiler.... I was also considering the Portage and Main... from what I read, it sounds like the Cadillac of OWB... I am still open to comments!!!! 

[martyinmi]

The real inherent beauty of the Portage and Main is it's simplicity. There are only three items that can go bad- a Johnson mechanical high temperature shut off  aquastat, a digital Johnson aquastat, and a blower. Their method of heat transfer is the tried and true Scotch Marine style. The only thing that might be considered a wear item might be the nozzle. Mines only been running for about 6 weeks, so I don't have any idea how long the nozzle might last. They are not the least expensive OWB's out there, but they aren't the most expensive either. Three of us here in mid Michigan all bought the 250's a few months ago and so far we are very pleased.
   I applaud you for wanting a clean and efficient one. I'm fortunate to have good neighbors, as they never complained when I had my conventional OWB. They don't even know when my P&M is cycling now, and they both joke about me waking up one morning and seeing two sets of insulated pex lines going to their houses.
   If you get a chance, google P&M, give them a call, and ask to speak to Brian or Rory. Two very sharp men who know their boilers inside and out. You'll not find two more educated people out there when it comes to the gasification process also.

[Bill G]

I'll 2nd that on P & M.  Opt 250.  No complaints on quality of workmanship there.  You get what you pay for, I suppose.

Was gone for 2 weeks and cleaned before leaving.  The only thing is, she really condensates on first lighting.  Enough to make you think you have major problems!  I put a couple pieces of alum. foil under clean out doors to direct condensation away from insulation during first burn.  worked great!

After comes up to temp, no problems.  Discard foil.

As I said before, during my recent research/education phase of my new boiler search, 2 stoves really stood out from the crowd...PM & CB.
More than a few brands looked sad, from design/build/weld stand point.

Good luck in your OWB decision!!!

Bill

[yoderheating]

 Rosewood, I would be interested in knowing which brands made of 409ss are having problems? I haven't heard of this before and would be interested in learning more about it.  I've been selling furnaces made with 409 for about 6 years without any problems but would like to know more about it in case I ever do run into it. 

[rosewood]

yoder, not specific to any mfg, talking about the steel and its characteristics.if you ever see a warranty claim for a cracked firebox ,bet someone had a boil over from a run away fire. i don't see a benefit of having a ss firebox? have you ever seen a rot hole in a firebox? i only hear of jackets leaking. how about yourself?

[yoderheating]

I have seen fireboxes in other brands deteriorate and leak although you are correct that it seems most leaking problems are in the water jacket. I wonder if this is because so many brands have nice thick fireboxes and then throw a thin water jacket on it? I always get a kick out of certain brands that brag on the thickness of their firebox when I know their water jacket is way to thin.
 I have never seen 409 crack and I've had customers forget to put in the ash pan after dumping ashes and boil half the water out before they realized they need to stop adding wood.